Tag: Ethics

We all strive to be happy, but still, it is extremely few who can really say that they are. But what are the obstacles? I think one of the most important is that we do not succeed in being true to ourselves in our life choices.

A happy person is a person who is fully integrated, i.e. living a life where all outer and inner circumstances are in harmony with each other. This is certainly not easy. It requires that after careful reflection you are aware of your values ​​and succeed in living them. But it also requires that you “clean up” your life so that the external factors – home, work, partner, friends – do not go against what is of fundamental importance to you. Continue reading “Live a better life by being true to yourself”

Awareness that our volitional actions (karma) always have effects, for better or worse, gives us keys to living a happier life.

Few words have probably been so misinterpreted as the Buddhist concept of karma. One often thinks of fate – something that is predetermined and which we cannot do anything about. When someone suffers from an adversity in life, we can hear that “this was his karma”. If we are rich or poor, healthy or sick then this could be a result of our karma. Nothing could be more wrong. Karma (Sanskrit) simply means action and actions, as we all know, have consequences.

Ideas from two intellectual and spiritual giants could serve as a daily inspiration almost 2,500 years later.

One of the many joys of working in an international environment is the opportunities for discussions with colleagues and friends from all over the world on diverse issues as culture, history, food, politics, philosophy or just the best way of spending a day in a city other than your own.

I especially treasure the discussions with Greek friends, which after a while often tend to gravitate to how profoundly the thinking of ancient Greek philosophers has influenced our modern views. As a practicing Buddhist, I find it intriguing to see the parallels between the Hellenistic and Buddhist thinking, and how the great philosophies of the “axial age” (the centuries around 500 BCE) still are living and guiding people’s thinking across the globe.